Becky Rentz and Elizabeth Nawrocki Win Twice To Help Rosary Win The 2024 MCAC Varsity Title
11/12/2024 10:10 AM
By Sophie Kaufman on SwimSwam
MCAC Swimming and Diving Championships
- Oct. 25-28, 2024
- Wilmette, IL
- 25 Yards (SCY)
- Full Results: "MCAC Swimming and Diving Championships" on MeetMobile
Varsity Top 5 Final Results:
- Rosary High School — 381
- Loyola Academy — 339
- Benet Academy — 302
- Saint Ignatius College Prep — 300
- Fenwick High School — 275
Rosary High School won the varsity Metro Catholic Aquatic Conference title, earning 381 points to beat Loyola Academy's 339 outing by 42 points. The Beads' stars proved to be too much for the other programs to overcome; Rosary shot into the lead by winning the first meet's first three events and never looked back.
Abby Moore (27.76), Elizabeth Nawrocki(29.04), Kendall Mallers (26.08), and Paige Kowal (23.26) set the tone for the Beads in the opening 200 medley relay, combining for a final time of 1:46.14 and winning by 1.49 seconds.
The dominance continued in the next two events, as the Beads went 1-3 in the 200 freestyle and 1-2 in the 200 IM. Notre Dame commit Becky Rentzled the 200 freestyle, swimming a 1:52.43. Behind her, sophomore Annabelle Nawrocki closed in 28.77 to get her hand on the wall in third ahead of Loyola's Reilly O'Hara.
The elder Nawrocki, Elizabeth, had a quick turnaround from the 200 medley relay to the 200 IM. But that didn't deter her, and she controlled the race, winning by over two seconds in 2:07.37. The time was a season-best for Nawrocki, who is headed to Georgia next fall. Fellow Beads senior Bella Wojtowicz took second in 2:09.82, joining Nawrocki sub-2:10.
Rentz and Nawrocki doubled up on event wins later in the meet. Rentz won the 100 fly in 56.42, leading from start to finish. Nawrocki picked up the win in the 100 breaststroke, swimming 1:04.71.
Junior Lucy Rooney came up big for Benet Academy, swimming personal bests to win the 50 and 100 freestyle. She cracked 24 seconds for the first time in the 50, winning in 23.99 ahead of a 2-3-4 Loyola finish by Lia Roggi(24.30), Sophia Friestedt (24.73), and Kinsley Fitzgerald (24.88). Then, she popped a 51.61 in the 100 freestyle, blowing past the 52-second barrier and winning by almost a second.
The freshman Kowal added a win in the 500 freestyle for the Beads (5:05.91) and Rosary put their stamp of authority on the meet by sweeping the relays. After winning the 200 medley relay to open the meet, they won the 200 free relay in 1:36.76, highlighted by a 23.37 split from Rentz and a 23.88 from Kowal.
Rentz led off the 400 freestyle relay in 51.82, which would've taken second in the individual 100 freestyle. Wojtowicz (53.24), Kowal (52.73), and A. Nawrocki (52.47) followed behind Rentz and the Beads sealed their conference title with a win in 3:30.26.
Rosary High School also won the junior varsity competition, scoring 392 points as Loyola again took second place (349). Loyola was second in the freshman/sophomore scoring as well (348.5) but it was Saint Ignatius College Prep that won that division, earning 393 points.
Read the full story on SwimSwam: Becky Rentz and Elizabeth Nawrocki Win Twice To Help Rosary Win The 2024 MCAC Varsity Title
